Azerbaijan

Previewing the 2026 UN General Assembly

China’s Push for Transport Integration Could Expand Beijing’s Control of Central Asian Trade Routes

A new front in the U.S.-China competition is taking shape along the Middle Corridor, the critical trade route linking China and Europe while bypassing Russia and Iran. This corridor, also known as the...

Moscow Targets U.S.-Backed Projects as Armenia Moves West

Although Moscow failed to swing Armenia’s June elections in its favor, it continues to stir the pot in Yerevan, aiming to thwart Armenia’s turn toward the West. A new report from cybersecurity company...

Operation Economic Outcast’s Success Depends on Aggressive, Sustained Enforcement

First there was the maximum pressure campaign during President Trump’s first term. Then came Operation Economic Fury in April 2026. Now, with Operation Economic Outcast, the Trump administration is launching...

Denied Syrian Foothold, Turkey Could Harass Israel at Sea

As Israel moves to prevent Turkish military encroachment in neighboring Syria, officials are bracing for Ankara to shift pressure to the eastern Mediterranean. Turkey remains a member of NATO, and such...

Vučić Welcomes Zelensky in Serbia: Turning Point or Tactical Gambit?

On Saturday, Volodymyr Zelensky made his first official visit to Serbia, a country long seen as one of Russia’s closest European partners. For some in the West, it was proof that Serbian President Aleksandar...

China Is Helping Erdogan Build a Surveillance State

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is no stranger to the machinery of repression. He has throttled internet providers, monitored political opponents, and folded once-independent media into a loyalist...

Is Israel Actually More Isolated Than Ever?

“Support for Israel around the world is declining,” former Chicago mayor and potential Democratic presidential candidate Rahm Emanuel declared in Israel last week. “The only diplomatic achievement...

Kazakhstan Bets on Iranian Port Investment

Landlocked Kazakhstan is seeking port access, and Astana is banking on Iran to provide it. On July 8, Kazakhstan signed an agreement to build a logistics and transport terminal at Iran’s largest seaport...

Moscow still has leverage after Armenian election defeat

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan survived Russia’s best efforts to influence this month’s election against him. That allows Pashinyan to continue guiding his small South Caucasus nation’s...

U.S. Turns to Central Asia To Combat China’s Rare Earth Dominance

The United States is vulnerable to Chinese control over critical mineral supply chains. To reduce its dependence on Beijing, Washington is increasingly looking to Central Asia. On June 10, U.S. special...

Why Russia Is Trying to Influence Armenia’s Elections

Moscow feels threatened by Armenia’s foreign policy pivot toward Europe and the United States.

Farewell Fidelismo?  

Trump has a chance to liberate the Cuban people – and others

An Anniversary That Should Serve as Warning for Russia’s Allies

May 14 occupies a symbolic place in Russia’s military imagination. It marks the anniversary of the creation of the Warsaw Pact in 1955 and, nearly half a century later, the founding of the Collective...

SADAT: Turkey’s Wagner Group

The SADAT International Defense Consultancy has grown into a key instrument of Turkish influence in Africa and the Middle East.

The U.S. Should Take a Page From Europe’s New Russia Sanctions Playbook

The European Union is stepping up enforcement against Russian sanctions evasion. Brussels has now implemented its largest set of designations against Moscow in two years, targeting the Kremlin’s enablers...

What Are Turkey’s Red Lines in the Iran Conflict?

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is reluctant to get involved in the Iran War, fearing it would hurt his party’s chances in the next election.

Russia the Arsonist Wants to Play Firefighter

Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered to use Moscow’s close ties with Iran to restore calm in the Middle East after the US and Israeli strikes on Iran, which he condemned as “unprovoked aggression.”...

Has Iran’s drone threat peaked?

In response to the US and Israeli attacks on Iran, Tehran has unleashed more than 1,500 drones on countries across the region, including the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia...

Israel intensifies strikes on repression sites, expands outreach to Iranians as regime repression deepens (March 8-10 updates)

On March 10, marking 10 days of Operation Epic Fury, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said that more than 5,000 targets in Iran have been struck, including command-and-control centers, Islamic Revolutionary...